If you were one of the many people who sat in the dark waiting for the lights to turn on at Scotiabank Saddledome and enjoyed a little bit of dimly lit hockey, you’ve got a funny story to tell.
Wednesday’s game between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens saw officials decide to start the game after a 10-minute delay, even though not all of the lights in the arena were on yet. The decision was made to play through the lighting issues as the building crew worked to resolve them, as players had to battle each other without having full vision of the action.
Thankfully for both teams, the lighting issue wouldn’t last for the entirety of Montreal’s 2-1 overtime win over Calgary.
It’s not the first NHL game to have a delay for incredibly strange reasons, and it won’t be the last, as NHL history is full of one-of-a-kind situations that delayed the opening faceoff. Remember when the New Jersey Devils and Flames played in front of fewer than 400 fans in 1987?
Or what about the Jim Schoenfeld-Don Koharski incident being the reason part-time officials in yellow jerseys were pressed into service to handle a playoff game?
Avry Lewis-McDougall has more on the Canadiens and Flames delay, as well as other unique situations in NHL history, in his latest video column.
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